Nothing, it seems, can stop this Cocalico team
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jason Guarente — LNP/Lancasteronline
DENVER — Adam Laudenslager had a cast on his right wrist and a brace on his right knee. Nothing was going to keep the senior out of this game.
Cocalico had a chance to make school history. The Eagles were facing their backyard rivals. A district championship was at stake.
How could Laudenslager possibly sit this one out?
“I knew I was going to play no matter what,” the two-way lineman said. “I wasn’t too worried about it. As long as I can play every Friday, week in and week out, I don’t really care what happens to me.”
Third-seeded Cocalico knocked off No. 5 Ephrata 23-9 in the District 3 Class 5A final at Friday night.
The Eagles won back-to-back titles for the first time. They earned the designation coach Bryan Strohl dangled in front of them for weeks.
The GOATs. The greatest Cocalico team of all-time.
The Eagles have not been beaten since a surprising Week 1 loss to Warwick. Along the way they ended Wyomissing’s bid for a perfect season with a 34-14 Week 7 win.
The emotion of the night was written across the faces of every Cocalico player, particularly the seniors, as they celebrated in the frigid conditions.
Hunter Frable, who overcame a freak snowtubing accident and returned to the lineup for Week 1, stood within a crowd of players and cried.
They weren’t tears of joy. They were tears of sadness. Even though he had the coveted championship, he knew he was at the end of a chapter in his life.
“I love this sport so much,” Frable said. “It’s my last time ever playing here in my home stadium. The next time I come I’m gonna be a visitor. I’ll have to buy a ticket.”
Laudenslager, carrying a plush goat that Strohl awarded to his team, scanned through the crowd of supporters that came down from the bleachers for the trophy ceremony.
The senior found the man he was looking for, his dad Tom, and jumped into his arms. More tears flowed.
“I’m so happy I could contribute to this win,” Laudenslager said. “Help us become the best we can be.”
Frable and Laudenslager were key parts of a dominant defensive performance. Cocalico recorded seven sacks. It held Ephrata’s high-powered offense scoreless into the fourth quarter.
Everyone played a part. Logan Brubaker had two sacks. Owen Weaver and Laudenslager each contributed 1.5. Dane Horning had one. So did Frable.
“Our defense was lights-out,” Frable said. “We had so much pressure tonight. It was amazing how we played as a team. We just dominated that whole game.”
Laudenslager and fellow captain Sam Steffey both were unable to play in the semifinal win over Cedar Cliff last week.
Steffey, the starting fullback, returned only as a linebacker and made a crucial tackle on a first-and-goal play in the closing seconds of the first half. Ephrata had a chance to cut a 16-0 deficit to 16-7. The Mountaineers ended up with nothing.
Ephrata quarterback Sam McCracken threw two interceptions, picked off by Aaryn Longenecker and Bryce Nash, and was harassed into 18 incompletions. The Mounts managed just 27 net yards rushing.
“It was really just film preparation,” lineman Thomas Dattoli said. “We all stepped up our game in film watching. We took it a lot more serious than we did all year. It paid off for us.”
Cocalico reclaimed the Review Cup, a trophy given to the winner in this rivalry. It had been in hibernation since the last time these teams met in 2017.
A line of emergency vehicles was waiting for the Eagles outside the gates. A police escort through Denver was one of the perks that come with being the champions.
Tim Porter, Steffey and Laudenslager were the first three players to touch the trophy. They lifted it over their heads as their teammates came to join them.
Laudenlager was still carrying that stuffed goat as he posed for pictures and hugged his family.
“He’s a dog,” Dattoli said. “He’s a great player on both sides of the ball. It was great to see him out there.”
This is how Laudenslager imagined his last game on his home field. Nothing was going to keep him away.
